Disney World Day 4: Our last day

Saturday was our last day at Disney, and unfortunately we didn't have time to make it to any parks. Instead, we rode the bus to the Magic Kingdom and then took the monorail to the Polynesian for breakfast. 

{Daddy & Reid}

{Mommy & Grant}

{After breakfast at the Polynesian}

After breakfast, we walked around the Polynesian for a little bit and then headed back to our hotel so the boys could get an early nap since the airport shuttle was coming to pick us up at 2... but not before they got one last thrill in their sparkly Minnie headbands:

{Grant L, Reid R}

 

Wouldn't they make cute little girls??

The boys did great on the flight home, despite an hour-long delay. It was only after we arrived in Houston and had to wait over an hour to get our stroller and luggage that things started to get a little hairy. There were meltdowns right and left in baggage claim, and I'm not just talking about the toddlers. Look at how tired these poor babies were:

{Grant L, Reid R}

We gave them their blankets and they seriously wrapped them around their heads for some peace and quiet. Once we got to the car, we threw on their pjs and they were asleep before we ever got out of the airport... and that was the end of our Disney trip!

All in all, despite the (more than) occasional temper tantrums, tears, and whining, it was a sweet trip filled with lots of smiles, laughs and precious memories (and hundreds of photos). But I still wouldn't ever attempt it again with two two-year-olds...!

Disney World Day 3 (Part 2): Magic Kingdom continued

After naps and being rejoined by Ryan and Randy, it was back to the Magic Kingdom.

{Grant and his daddy waiting on the bus}

We were running late for our dinner reservations, but of course we had to make time for pictures in front of the castle:

{Ryan's holding Reid, and I'm holding Grant}

 

While we waited to go in for dinner, the boys had fun watching some ducks.

 

 

 

Finally it was time for dinner at Crystal Palace with Pooh and his friends. Given our previous experiences meeting characters, you can imagine how well that went... 

{Grant L, Reid R}

{Piglet playing peekaboo to warm up his audience... it didn't work}

 

 

 

At the very end, Reid got brave enough to give Pooh a high-five and some knuckles:
 

 

After dinner it was time for Mickey's Christmas Party, and since it required special passes, it meant that none of the rides had lines! We recovered from the Pooh trauma with The Little Mermaid ride...

 

... and another spin on the teacups...

... followed by a little racing:

{Daddy and Grant}

 

{Mommy & Reid}

 

{Aunt KK and Aunt Momo}

They liked the cars so much that this is what happened when they had to get out:

{Reid L, Grant R}

Then we did two turns on what ended up being their very favorite ride of all, the 1980s-era People Mover. It was also the first time they wore their ears for any length of time:

{Reid L, Grant R}

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, we hit Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, and that was the end of the rides.

At that point it was almost bedtime but we wanted to catch a few minutes of the Christmas parade, so we staked out a spot on Main Street and waited.

{Grant & Big, Reid & Mommy}

Honey bought the boys these Mickey toys that light up and spin around, and that helped pass the time... until one of them got caught in my hair and we spent 10 minutes working to untangle it!

{Honey & Reid}

{Grant & his Mickey}

 

 

It was a pretty great way to spend our last evening at Disney... together as a family, no lines, and lots of smiles.

Disney World Day 3 (Part 1): Magic Kingdom

Friday morning we hit the Magic Kingdom bright and early. Ryan and Randy were playing golf again, so it was just the six of us. Here are the boys waiting (not so patiently) to go in:

 

 

And in case you're wondering, yes, the boys--and on this day, all of us--had special Disney shirts to correspond to each day of our trip, thanks to Honey and her new embroidery machine!

We had an appointment to take pictures with the princesses first thing, and we were optimistic that the boys might like them more than the other characters since they still look like actual humans. We were wrong.

Here we are with Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel:

 

 

Once that drama was behind us, we stopped to buy the boys their first set of Mickey ears, and they wore them just long enough for me to snap approximately three pictures, and then threw them on the ground.

{Aunt KK and Grant trying to decide on ears}

 

 

We boarded the train and headed for Fantasyland, which kept everyone happy for about 20 minutes.

{Mommy & Grant}

{Aunt Momo & Reid}

{Reid}

Silly brothers on the train:

 

 

 

 

Our first stop in Fantasyland was Goofy's Barnstormer for Reid and Grant's first roller coaster ride! This is how they spent our time in line--trying to climb the fence and escape:

{Grant}

The height requirement was 36 inches and they squeaked by. I had never ridden it and didn't know what to expect, but it was a real, live roller coaster that went faster and down bigger hills than I expected! But the boys did great anyway, despite this nervous look on Grant's face:

Next up was the carousel, and you would have thought the horses were biting the boys what with all the screaming and carrying on. Once it actually started moving, they finally settled down and then by the time it was over, they were screaming and carrying on because they had to get off! That was kind of the theme of the trip, truth be told: fussing while they waited in line, scared when they first got on a ride, and then screaming when they had to get off. Who says Disney World isn't for two-year-olds??

{Reid}

{Grant}

 

 

Our next stop was It's a Small World, which had them both mesmerized. Grant waved at all the dolls and told them "bye-bye" pretty much the entire time.

{Reid & Morgan}

{Grant & Mom}

We hit the Mad Tea Party next, and the boys loved it (and again, screamed bloody murder when we had to get off):

{Reid is with RK and Grant's with me}

 

 

And finally, the last attraction before naptime: Dumbo! And best of all, they got to ride it TWICE--once with Morgan and me, and once with Honey and Randi Kay.

{Again with the waiting...}

{Aunt Momo & Grant}

{Mommy & Reid}

 

 

 

 

{Aunt KK & Grant, Honey & Reid}

 

 

 

 

{Grant's ready to go!}

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the jam-packed morning, it was back to the hotel for a nap, with more Magic Kingdom fun in store for that evening. Stay tuned!